Game of the Month

Game of the Month - December 2004

December 2004 was a rather unusual month for us here at GameSpy. There were a number of awesome games released. Our two runners-up, the sequel to our 2003 Game of the Year and a movie-licensed game (one far better than the movie it's based on) attest to that.

Unfortunately, though, there was one game that we felt was in danger of falling through the cracks. Technically speaking, this game was released at the end of November, but because of its nature, we didn't actually review it until December. Since we hadn't formed a consensus opinion on it, we couldn't consider it for November Game of the Month. Once we had reviewed it, though, its sheer quality made it impossible to ignore. So rather than ignore it because of a technicality, we decided to acknowledge it here.

Often games that are heavily hyped fail to live up to their expectations. Every once in a while, though, a game comes along that not only lives up to, but manages to be better than it promised before launch. After going through a heavily publicized beta period, World of Warcraft went live on November 23, 2004, and legions of gamers who logged in discovered what the lucky beta testers had known for months: Blizzard's first entry into the MMO space is an amazing game.

The secret of World of Warcraft lies in the way the game streamlines the MMO experience, with game systems friendly to MMO newbies yet deep enough for veterans. Casual players can log on for an hour or so a night and actually get stuff accomplished. Solo players can enjoy the questing aspects while those looking for groups who have more time to invest are rewarded with richer experiences and better equipment. There's enough in-game content that it seems impossible that any one player could experience all the game has to offer -- even if there wasn't new stuff being added all the time, but the game doesn't punish you for missing something or for logging out and having a life. World of Warcraft is a title that every gamer, not just fans of the genre, owe it to themselves to try